The Day I Met The Doctor
by Loki Milano
Summary: Whenever someone meets the Doctor, things always take interesting twists and turns. This is just one example. What does a teenage superstar do when an alien turns up in her dressing room?


The Day I met the Doctor

I had a very ordinary life at fifteen. I went to school, fell asleep in lessons, got in to trouble with my friends, did my homework (usually the night before it was due in), moaned about those cute guys and bitched about the snobs, the usual stuff everyone does at that age. Then I joined the choir. Doesn't sound like much of a threatening, life-changing event does it?

I actually did it for a dare. My best friend Alison Groves and I were on a new school year high. It was different from all the other years we had been at that school, because it was year eleven, the last one you have to suffer through before leaving. We realised, looking around at the smug new prefects and terrified year sevens, that we had never really done anything particular at the school. So we made a pact, we would join a club. A club that neither of us would have ever dreamed of joining and the other person got to choose it.

I signed Alison up for the debate team, full of the scholarly types and those with big mouths. She could be very vocal when she wanted to be and I thought it would give my eardrums a bit of a break. I told her that and she threw a sausage roll at me. She soon got her revenge when she signed me up for choir. It was full of razzle dazzle prodigies, in which I had no place at all. I didn't like being the centre of attention and I listened to music, I didn't make it.

The first session I went to, Friday after school, the usual suspects were there and they all stared at me in disbelief and horror. The squirts in year seven followed their example and shuffled away from me. The music teacher, frizzy-haired Miss McConnolly who was always late to lessons and dressed rather like a pair of curtains rushed in with the register. When each name was sounded I just looked further down at the floor. They were all household names, or at least known in the school and local communities.

"Suzannah Preston?" called Miss McConnolly.

Suzannah Preston was legendary. She played six instruments at the highest grade by the age of thirteen, had sung for the Queen and taken part in the Proms in London, got every starring role in every school production we did and every production the community theatre did and was tall, blonde and tanned. I _really_ disliked her. I had no good reason to dislike her, she was nice to everyone, but that seemed to just make it worse. I admit it, I was jealous.

"Yes Miss McConnolly," even her voice had a sing-song edge to it.

Miss McConnolly gave a huge smile, then saw the next name on the list and her jaw dropped slightly. "And, um, Phoebe Sterling?"

"Yes Miss McConnolly." I muttered. I would so get Alison for this.

They started off with some warm ups that made me squirm, oohs and ahs and do re mis. I felt so ridiculous doing them I kept my voice as quiet as possible. It was going to be a very long ninety minutes. I was mentally tearing my hair out at the absurdity until it finally finished and we finally got on to some decent songs. Most of them were from musicals and you know something? I actually enjoyed it.

Halfway through it was a bit strange. I swear people were getting quieter and quieter until everyone stopped dead right after finishing a number and Miss Connolly stood up from the piano.

"Who _was_ that?!" she asked.

Much to my terror everyone turned and stared at me, even Suzannah's eyes widened as they focused on me. Oh god, I was going to be kicked out for singing off key, wasn't I? In front of everyone. I would never live this down. Miss Connolly called me over and I wheedled my way from the back, my heart pounding. She sat down at the piano again with me standing by her.

"I want to hear those two lines from you again Miss Sterling," she explained,

"You do?" my stomach was knotting up.

"On three. One, two, three…"

I just did it, "And some nights we'll take it slow, I know we've come so far, oh but baby, baby, we've got so far to go."

There was nothing but silence when I finished and it scared me witless. Until the whole choir burst out with applause and cheering. I was so shocked I almost fell over. I would have done, had Miss Connolly not steadied me by the elbow. We did a few more songs and I actually enjoyed myself. At the end of the session, Suzannah Preston came up to me.

"You did great Phoebe," she grinned. "Don't suppose you want to come by mine some time? I've written some of my own stuff and you have just the voice for it."

"Sure, why not?" I replied with a shrug.

She beamed, "OK. See you next week Phoebe!" Suzannah called as she left.

It was after that when things kind of took off. Suddenly I was in the school production and the community theatre. I went to Suzannah's once a week, after choir, then nearly every day because she lived nearby. She would show me her songs and I would sing them with her. Local pubs and clubs asked me to do a set and I scarcely had time to do my GCSEs in between. I made an extra special effort to spend more time with Alison. I'm not sure what happened, but one day, she just blew me off and walked away with the debate team.

Suzannah and I became really close then. She told me she was surprised I'd agreed to come over. People usually didn't like her because of her skills, they were jealous. I admitted I had been the same, thinking she'd go off and leave me like Alison had, but she just laughed and said she admired my honesty. I had a great time with Suzannah and our families got on really well as well.

Suzannah and I became quite a house name in the neighbourhood. One day the local club asked us to do a special set because their in house band had eaten bad sushi and couldn't come in. I was nervous as hell but with Suzannah playing the piano and me singing, we suddenly started being recognised on the street and asked to do other jobs during the summer.

At the end of a birthday party held in the club a woman came over to us, tall, almost skeletally thin with black hair and blue eyes. She handed us a card presenting herself as a manager for new talent, Cassis Rose. Weird name, but I wasn't going to call her on it. She thought we could do this professionally. In three weeks we had an agent and a single, written by Suzannah and performed by me and a random bassist and guitarist who she had arranged.

We rocketed to number one, suddenly an over night sensation. Things just got weirder and we were suddenly famous. PSSP was our name. This was not what I had signed up for, but we surfed the wave or however that saying goes. Within no time we had an album and a tour around the country.

Things went from weird to weirder, in a good way. We had to get body guards and be careful where we went. I lose count of how many times we laughed at suddenly finding ourselves celebrities. Cassis called us in to a meeting with her bosses. They were all tall, skeletally thin and had black hair and blue eyes. It was really, really strange. They offered me more money and presented Suzannah with a new keyboard as well as me with a microphone. I think I would have preferred the keyboard but they insisted I use that microphone because it was perfect for my voice.

Neither of us saw the newspapers after our performances on tour. If we had we would have noticed something strange. One by one people in each crowd suddenly developed strange illnesses. It was like the flu but they had no visible cause. Doctor's reports said they were perfectly healthy and could find no explanation at all.

That was where things got even more (if that was humanly possible) peculiar. Suzannah and I were winding down in our dressing room after a hell of a performance. Six encores! My throat was really sore. We heard the strangest noise from outside, like an engine or something. It died down and we thought nothing of it again. The door opened, I was expecting Cassis, she usually came in to congratulate us after a show, but when I swivelled around in my chair the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

"Who are you?!" I demanded, shooting to my feet. Suzannah did the same.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" came a rather fast-paced voice.

Standing in front of us was a tall, skinny man. I immediately thought it must have been some connection of Cassis' but he didn't quite fit the mould. He had (big) messy dark brown hair and dark brown eyes that were simultaneously long-suffering and sparkling with delight. He wore a blue suit and a black shirt that was unbuttoned slightly like he'd been hot and taken off his tie. His feet were covered by Converse which made me raise an eyebrow and the long tan coat made me wonder why he hadn't removed that instead of a tie.

"You shouldn't be here," declared Suzannah confidently.

"We can call security at the touch of a button." I warned.

"Oh, no need for that!" He had a childish grin and was putting on an innocent expression, "Honest, I'm harmless me. Really nice guy, ask my friends!" He even held up his hands to show he was unarmed.

There was an odd vibe that I was getting from him. It was kind of hyper but purposeful. He didn't seem to be the bad sort and I have to admit, I kind of liked seeing a new face. I had calmed down by now, putting him down to just being an enthusiastic fan who'd snuck passed the guards. That took some doing, I was kind of impressed.

"What are you doing here then?" asked Suzannah.

"And what's your name?" I backed up.

He frowned for a minute. Then leaned in and peered at me. His face lit up with a beaming smile and he suddenly took my hand, shaking it vigorously, it was like the penny had only just dropped.

"Oh! You're Phoebe Sterling!" he cried, "It's an honour to meet you. I'm a huge fan!" he blurted, then turned to Suzannah, she got the same treatment. "And Suzannah Preston, master wordsmith!"

"Uh, thanks?" Suzannah was as baffled as me.

"But hang on. That can't be right. Why am I here?" this anonymous man continued.

"You don't know?!" now I was alarmed.

"Well, sort of. But if I explained it'd freak you out."

"Try me."

I had no clue what was making me so bold, but there you go. I had no idea what to expect either, but it certainly wasn't what I got.

"Lived in London long?" he asked me first.

"Just my whole life." I smirked at him.

"OK. Maybe you'll be less freaked out," he shrugged.

"By _what_?!" sighed Suzannah.

He closed the door behind him and reached in his pocket. My alarm bells started ringing, oh hell, he wasn't some psycho with a gun was he? He pulled out…a compass? An honest to god compass. It was kind of old fashioned but had three LED lights blinking at the bottom of it. One was green, one yellow, one red. I resisted the urge to start laughing, but he spotted me.

"What?!" he exclaimed, "What's so funny? It's hi-tech equipment this!"

Suzannah raised an eyebrow, "Pardon me sir, but I think our bathroom is more hi-tech than that." I almost choked as I tried to stop myself snickering. I'd never heard Suzannah flippant before.

"Oh really? So your shower picks up alien impulses and your plunger acts as a homing device, well, does it?!" I swear he was pouting.

"No, but my toothbrush goes beep when it's charged." I couldn't resist teasing him.

"OK, fine, I won't show you then," he folded his arms crossly.

"Sorry, sorry. We'll stop. Promise." I apologised. "What does your magic compass do again?"

I swear, if he was a bird, he'd be preening. "It locates alien signals. Then leads me to them."

"Right. Ok." I wasn't convinced. "So why did it lead you here?"

"I don't know. You're not an alien are you? The good ones are always aliens!" he sighed.

"No. We're not alien," answered Suzannah plainly.

"We're just good." I winked.

He was about to say something else when there was a voice outside the door, asking if everything was ok and who we were talking to. It was Cassis. We called her in, this guy was no threat, so we just called him a friend of ours, visiting from out of town. I think he murmured something about us having no idea just how far he had travelled to get here. Cassis pushed the door open and came inside. The room dropped a few degrees I'm sure. There was a sudden chilly front in the air as she locked eyes with the nameless guy. It seemed like they knew each other.

"What are _you_ doing here?" growled Cassis.

Suzannah and I looked at each other, then shrugged and sat down to watch the show. It could have used popcorn. They just stared each other out though, it was rather boring in all honesty.

"So, this is why I'm here," realised coat man. He was here because our manager was? "I thought you would know better by now."

Cassis rolled her eyes, "Come off it, Doctor. This is what we _do_ it's how we survive. You should know all about survival at any cost."

"Doctor?" Suzannah looked at me, "Doctor who?" I shrugged.

"You have no right to be here," growled this Doctor. "Get out or you'll regret it!"

"OK, what the hell is going on?" I asked, fed up.

"None of your concern. Don't worry." Cassis answered firmly.

"None of their concern?!" screeched the Doctor. "You're exploiting them!"

"Come again?" now Suzannah was interested.

"I'm doing no such thing. They're well looked after, popular and have nothing to worry about!" argued Cassis.

"Do they know what they're doing? Well, do they?!" challenged the Doctor.

Cassis had no answer for that and I was worried. We sang, entertained people and had a laugh, didn't we? I could see by Suzannah's face she was having the same doubts as me. The Doctor turned to me and I stood at attention.

"You know I was telling you about aliens?" he asked. I nodded, well, yes. "There's one." He pointed at Cassis.

"_What_?!" cried Suzannah.

"And there's another." Cassis pointed at the Doctor.

"Our manager is an alien?!" I had to sit down. I'm an open minded gal, but that had caught me by surprise.

The Doctor whipped out his super-duper compass again and it went berserk, it went beep too, just like my toothbrush. That was about all I could comprehend in that tiny, blue-carpeted and green-walled dressing room as I stared at the vanity mirror with a light out across from me and saw my pale face get paler.

"Cassis isn't a name. It's a species," told the Doctor. "They take over a planet's population by way of reproduction, turning every poor unfortunate they come across into one of them. By means of a virus." My head was spinning. "So, how are you doing it this time? Let loose in the air vents? Under floor heating? Spiking the drinks?"

The compass seemed to change direction, flashing red. It was pointing at _me_. I wasn't an alien! I swear! The Doctor came closer and closer to me and I pressed my back against the wall. Only to have him come over and whip the microphone off from around my neck. I had forgotten it was there. He scanned it with a little torch thing he pulled out of his pocket and I fumbled for Suzannah's hand, she grabbed it and hugged me.

"Oh, very clever. Messing with neurons. Electric impulses built in to the microphone. Unleashed when Miss Sterling here dazzles the crowds."

"You mean _I_ was doing it?" I squeaked. "I read that contract, this was not what I signed up for!"

"Me either!" supported Suzannah.

"Oh, so you know our secret. Big whoop. Doesn't mean anything's going to change." Cassis drawled.

"Like hell it's not. I quit!"

There was a beat. Then Cassis turned to me, "No, you don't…" she reached inside her pocket.

"Phoebe?" it was the Doctor.

"Yes?" I answered warily.

"RUN!"

He grabbed my hand and I grabbed Suzannah's and we shot out of the door, ducking underneath a bolt from a laser gun. We were in a narrow corridor, white paint peeling of the walls, grey linoleum floor wearing away with bits of chewing gum here and there, no windows at all, but a fire exit at the far end. A few startled carriers dove out of our way and hurled abuse at our backs. Until a laser bolt gave a man nearby a bald patch. It had missed his forehead by inches, and the wall behind him was now burning.

"You can run, but I'll catch you!" called Cassis. I didn't doubt that.

The fire exit was within reach. Then out of nowhere three of the people who had been at the board meeting where Cassis introduced met to her bosses, cut us off, pointing laser guns at us. We turned on our heels, only to come face to face with Cassis. Rose. Whatever her name was. We were surrounded.

"OK, I really don't like aliens!" I exclaimed.

"Oi!" protested the Doctor.

"Sorry." I shrugged.

"You will do as we say Missy," crowed Cassis, "Because we have very good aim."

"Phoebe?" repeated the Doctor.

"_Yes_?!" I was too nervous to be polite.

"Going down!"

He pointed his torch at the floor and it dissolved beneath us. Suzannah and I screamed as we fell. We landed on a heap of something soft, sandbags, and dust flew up around us, causing us to cough and sneeze and my eyes were watering. The Doctor stood up in a jiffy and pointed his torch up. The magic trap door had vanished.

"You'll have to show me that trick," remarked Suzannah as she stood up and brushed herself down, before helping me to my feet.

"Hate to be the downer, but I'm sure laser can get through a floor easy enough." I pointed out.

"Yep," nodded the Doctor. He seemed almost happy about it! "But I have a secret weapon," there was that cheeky grin again. It suited him.

He pointed behind us at…a wooden box. _That_ was his secret weapon? My scepticism must have shown on my face because he sighed. "Just trust me, alright? Come on!"

He grabbed a key, it was a Yale key! How was that going to stop us becoming flambéed? I didn't have any choice though as he disappeared and Suzannah went in after him. Taking in to account the absurdity of this whole situation I just went with the flow and tailed them.

I could not believe my eyes. I backed out of the door again and looked up at the sign on the wooden box, then ran in. It was a spaceship! An honest to god spaceship! It had a tube thing in the middle that seemed to be pulsing and machinery whirred and buzzed. The Doctor was over by some control panel and seemed to be about to drive us somewhere.

"What are you playing at?!" I demanded, "If people out there are infected I'm not going to just leave them!"

He just beamed at me, "Oh, I like you," he decided. "Don't worry, we're not going to leave them."

He pressed a button and an engine started up. It was that whirring we had heard before, just ahead of the Doctor coming in to the dressing room. My family would not believe this. Or maybe they would. What, with live shop dummies, alien pigs, Christmas invasions, metal men, cruiser replicas, evil cars...to name but a few. Ok, they would believe me. But it was still odd.

"Then what are we going to do?" pressed Suzannah.

"Miss Sterling, I hope you're in good voice," was the answer.

"You are kidding right? No way am I singing ever again!" I folded my arms decisively.

"Oh, it's perfectly safe now, honest," he assured me. "Now. What's the biggest concert you've done before?"

"What does that matter?" I replied.

"Just tell me. Interest's sake," there was that innocent grin again.

"No idea. A million maybe." I shrugged.

"Then six billion should be a doddle," he responded brightly.

"Please tell me that's a joke." That was the whole bleeding world!

"No, not at all. My jokes are funny."

Blimey he was arrogant. Or just confident maybe. He twisted a few dials and pulled a few levers, then put his hands on my shoulders and positioned me in front of the screen. My eyes widened as newspaper reports and news channels flashed up on the screen announcing a nationwide epidemic of a strange flu. They immediately put it down to aliens. We were no strangers to aliens now.

"Christ!" gasped Suzannah, covering her mouth with a hand.

"Still think I'm laughing?" In a beat the Doctor had gone from fun and cheer to deadly serious. I shook my head numbly. I had done this. "Good thing is." He was back to happy again. "You can fix it too."

"I can?" I didn't believe him.

He did something to his computer whilst we were watching the news channel. Then, all of a sudden, the newsreader announced they were getting a strange signal that they were going to put through. Much to my amazement, the Doctor appeared on the big screen behind her, and I could see me over his shoulder.

"Hello there. Sorry to interrupt, but this was the most effective way to do things. Mind if we pass on a message to the aliens?"

"No, not at all. Who are you?" asked the newsreader.

"Oh, that doesn't matter. But I have someone here who needs no introduction. She'll sort out everything, trust me."

I tried to pull away but the Doctor pushed me in front of the screen and suddenly I was on the big wall behind the newsreader. Her mouth dropped open as I glared at the Doctor off screen.

"Phoebe Sterling?!" clarified the newsreader, "You can save us?"

"I uh…guess?" I stuttered. Never liked public appearances.

"Let them have it!" the Doctor's voice announced from behind my shoulder.

The whole spaceship suddenly vibrated with the force of the speakers that had been concealed as they played the beginning of a very familiar tune, my first ever single. It had only been three months ago! I automatically started singing along.

"I've packed my bags, and I'm on my way.  
Where I'm going I'll never know,  
But I'll follow the path, and there I'll go.  
I have no idea which direction to head in,  
I couldn't care less, I'll just keep on walking.  
I'll stop when I need it, and laugh when I do,  
And somewhere out there, I'll wait for you…"

It was perfectly natural to me. I was hardly aware I was doing it. The newsreader stared up at the me on screen in amazement.

"Miss Sterling! You're broadcasting on every channel all over the world! How are you doing it?"

"No idea." I admitted.

"Wait. News just in…the mysterious illness sweeping the world. It's…disappearing?!" she frowned as more reports came in, "It's completely wiped out! Ladies and gentlemen, teenage pop sensation Phoebe Sterling just saved the world! Somehow…"

She was cut off as the screen was by the Doctor. I tried to tune back in. It wasn't me that had done anything, it was him! I tried shouting this at the computer but it just didn't work. The Doctor smiled at me, amused.

"What happened to the Cassis?" questioned Suzannah, "What did you do?"

The Doctor shrugged, "I reversed the neutron flow. So I imagine they've been infected by humanity."

I was speechless for a change. I half wondered what it would mean for my career, truth be told. I'd quite enjoyed people liking me and making them happy. I turned to the Doctor, this mysterious man I'd met less than an hour ago and had just saved the world with.

"So…now what?"

"Nothing," the Doctor smiled, "You just carry on. I'd find a new manager though. Keep on singing, I like to hear it."

"But, what about you?" I asked, "You waltz in, save me and the world. I don't know anything about you, not even your name."

"I'm the Doctor," he responded.

"That's not a name. That's a title," reminded Suzannah.

"Speaking of," the Doctor rummaged around in his coat pocket. He hadn't found another alien lurking about had he? But no, he just drew out a crumpled little note pad and pushed it into my hand with a pen, "Can I have your autograph?"

"Only if I can have yours," I bargained.

We made a deal and exchanged our details. He hugged me as we said goodbye. It was peculiar, a fleeting meeting and I was sad to see him leave.

"Come visit me some time?" I requested, "You'd be a good bodyguard."

He laughed, non-committal. I doubted I would see him again, yet somewhere in the back of my mind…He was considerate enough to drop us off outside our homes in that fancy blue box of his. Suzannah and I stood and waved at him. Then the door closed and with a gentle whirr of engines, the spaceship faded out of sight. We turned around and just that second, someone came around the corner. It was my mother.

"Oh! Phoebe, sweetheart!" she hurried over, dropping her bags as she hugged me, "You were absolutely fantastic!"

Suddenly a whole crowd of people flocked out of their houses.

"It's Phoebe Sterling! She just saved us! Hey, everyone, it's Phoebe!"

The praise seemed to empty to me. I realise now what I didn't then. It was five years ago. I was still a singer, still famous, but I was studying too, and helping where I could. I was surprised that at least once a year, the Doctor really did come and visit me. Always on our 'anniversary', the day we met. He told me the most fantastic stories. I realised now that the whole of human kind was only in existence because of him.

He saves the world, the whole freaking universe and everyone should know it. But no-one ever will, because he's the Doctor, and that's not what he signed up for.


End file.
